Non-carbonated drink bottle pressurization cap

ABSTRACT

A bottle cap for the introduction of pressure into a bottle, in which the bottle cap has a cap body configured with a through opening; and a one-way valve arrangement having at least one flexible valve component configured either with a through slit, such that the through slit is aligned with the through opening and an association between the cap body and the one-way valve arrangement maintains a planer profile of the flexible valve component after introduction of pressure into the bottle, or a flap valve integrally formed with the cap body, so as to prevent escape of pressurized gases from the bottle.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to plastic drink bottles and, in particular, it concerns a bottle cap for the introduction of pressure into plastic bottles containing non-carbonated drinks.

Plastic bottles containing carbonated soft drinks are pressurized as a result of the carbonated liquid stored inside. This pressurization adds strength to the bottles. For storage and shipping purposes, flats and/or pallets of such pressurized plastic bottles may be stacked freely upon one anther due to the added strength of the pressurization.

There is however, a storage and shipping problem for plastic bottles containing non-carbonated drinks or liquids, due to the lack of the added strength produced by carbon dioxide gas that has escaped from the carbonated drinks. As a result, care must be taken not to stack too many flats one upon another.

Further, care must be taken when mixing flats of carbonated and non-carbonated drinks together for shipping, such that the stronger carbonated drink bottles must be on the lower rows with the weaker non-carbonated drink bottles on the top row or two. Such care adds time and expense when warehouse personnel are preparing orders for shipping.

There is therefore a need for a simple bottle cap that will allow for the easy introduction of pressure into plastic bottles containing non-carbonated drinks and thereby provide the added strength offered by plastic bottles containing carbonated drinks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a bottle cap for the introduction of pressure into plastic bottles containing non-carbonated drinks.

According to the teachings of the present invention there is provided, a bottle cap for the introduction of pressure into a bottle, the bottle cap comprising: (a) a cap body configured with a through opening; and (b) a one-way valve arrangement having at least one flexible valve component; wherein an association between the cap body and the one-way valve arrangement maintains a planer profile of the flexible valve component after introduction of pressure into the bottle so as to prevent escape of pressurized gases from the bottle.

According to a further teaching of the present invention, the at least one flexible valve component is configured with at least one through slit, such that the through slit is aligned with the through opening.

According to a further teaching of the present invention, the at least one flexible valve component is configured as at least two flexible valve components.

According to a further teaching of the present invention, the one-way valve configuration is configured as a flap valve integrally formed with the cap body.

According to a further teaching of the present invention, the cap body is configured for deployment on a plastic bottle containing non-carbonated liquid.

There is also provided according to the teachings of the present invention, a method for pressurizing the interior of a bottle, the method comprising: (a) providing a bottle cap having: (i) a cap body configured with a through opening; and (ii) a one-way valve arrangement having at least one flexible valve component; (b) deploying the bottle cap on the bottle; (c) introducing a flow of pressurized gas through the through opening and the through slit into the interior of the bottle; and (d) discontinuing the flow of pressurized gas when a predetermined pressure within the bottle is reached.

According to a further teaching of the present invention, the at least one flexible valve component is implemented with at least one through slit, such that the through slit is aligned with the through opening.

According to a further teaching of the present invention, the at least one flexible valve component is implemented as at least two flexible valve components.

According to a further teaching of the present invention, the at least one flexible valve component is implemented as a flap valve integrally formed with the cap body.

According to a further teaching of the present invention, the deploying of the bottle cap is implemented as deploying the bottle cap on a plastic bottle containing non-carbonated liquid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of a bottle cap constructed and operational according to the teachings of the present invention, shown here with a device for introducing pressure into the interior of the bottle to which the cap is attached;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the bottle cap of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A-3C are schematic top views of the one-way valve elements of the bottle cap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of a bottle cap constructed and operational according to the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side sectional view of a third preferred embodiment of a bottle cap constructed and operational according to the teachings of the present invention; and

FIG. 5A is a detail of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a bottle cap for the introduction of pressure into plastic bottles containing non-carbonated drinks.

The principles and operation of a bottle cap for the introduction of pressure into plastic bottles according to the present invention may be better understood with reference to the drawings and the accompanying description.

By way of introduction, as mentioned above, there is a real need in the bottled drink industry for a simple way to provide plastic bottles containing non-carbonated drinks with the added strength inherent in the plastic bottles containing carbonated drinks due to the release of the CO₂ gas once the bottle is sealed. When the bottles containing non-carbonated drinks have the same strength as the bottles containing carbonated drinks, no special stacking arrangements are necessary during shipping and storage.

The cap of the present invention provides a solution to this problem. Further, the principles of the present invention may be implemented as a modification to the manufacturing process of the caps currently in use, thereby providing saving with regard to the manufacture of the caps of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a first preferred embodiment of the bottle cap 10 of the present invention which is deployed on a bottle 2 containing non-carbonated drink 4.

Bottle cap body 18 is configured with a small through opening 12 through which pressurized gas may be introduced into the interior of bottle 2 by substantially any suitable device known in the art. A general representation of such a device is schematically illustrated here by pressurizing device 6. It will be appreciated that the pressurizing gas may be of substantially any suitable gaseous material such as, but not limited to, air or other inert gases.

Deployed inside bottle cap body 18 in a one-way valve arrangement 14/16 includes two valve components as illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Valve component 14 is configured with a through slit 14 a disposed along a substantially vertical center line of valve component 14. Similarly, valve component 16 is configured with a through slit 16 a disposed along a substantially horizontal center line of valve component 16. It will be understood that when the valve components 14 and 16 are deployed in bottle cap body 18, slits 14 a and 16 a are aligned with through opening 12.

Valve components 14 and 16 may be held in place in substantially any suitable manner known in the art, as are other bottle cap liner elements, such as those used for contests.

An association between the cap body 18 and the one-way valve arrangement 14/16 maintains a planer profile of the flexible valve components after introduction of pressure into the bottle so as to prevent escape of pressurized gases from the bottle

It will be readily understood that the inside surface of bottle cap body 18 provides support for the flexible valve components 14 and 16 in order to maintain the planer profile necessary to prevent the passage of pressurized gas out through the valve slits. To this end, through opening 12 should be as small as is practically possible, and slits 14 a and 16 a may extend past the edge of through opening 12. It will be appreciated the through opening 12 need not be circular as illustrated here, and the substantially any shape opening is with in the scope of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 3C, when the two flexible valve components 14 and 16 are deployed within bottle cap body 18 the two slits 14 a and 16 a are aligned at right angles (90°) one to another. It will be appreciated that although the preferred embodiment of the one-way valve arrangement 14/16 illustrated herein is configured as circular valve components having slits that intersect at a center point of the two overlapping circles, these are not necessities of the one-way valve arrangement 14/16 of the present invention, nor is the order of deployment of the separate valve components. It will be readily understood that the exterior shape of the valve components may be of substantially any suitable shape nor need each of the valve components be of the same shape. Further, the slits need not be configured so as to intersect at right angles at the center point of the two overlapping valve components. Therefore, embodiments having slits aligned at other than right angles and/or intersecting at a point other than a center point as long as the slits are in alignment with the through opening 12 are within the scope of the present invention.

It will be appreciated that one-way valve arrangement 14/16 may be constructed as an integrally formed single unit. Alternatively, as illustrated here, valve arrangement 14/16 may be constructed as two separate valve components, 14 and 16.

It should be noted that experimentation has shown the use of only one valve component, either 14 or 16, to be effective for maintaining a useful pressure differential within the plastic bottle. Such a bottle cap 20 is illustrated in FIG. 4. Similar elements are labeled with the same numbers and in FIG. 1 and the operation of bottle cap 20 is the same as the operation of bottle cap 10.

In operation, once the bottle cap 10 of the present invention is deployed on the bottle 2, a flow of pressurized gas 8 is introduced through the through opening 12 and the through slits 14 a and 16 a, or slit 14 a in the case of bottle cap 20, into the interior of the bottle 2. Flow of pressurized gas 8 is discontinued when a predetermined pressure within the bottle 2 is reached. The pressure is maintained within the interior of the bottle due to the seal created in slits 14 a and 16 a when valve components 14 and 16 are deployed in a planner profile.

It will be appreciated that valve components 14 and 16 may be fabricated from substantially any suitable flexible material such as, but not limited to, silicone, Teflon®, natural or synthetic rubbers, and various types of suitable soft resilient plastics.

FIGS. 5 and 5A illustrate a third preferred embodiment of the bottle cap 30 of the present invention, which includes a flap valve 18 a integrally formed with the cap body 18. It will be appreciated that flap valve 18 a is flexible at least at the point of interconnection with the cap body 18. Additionally, flap valve 18 a may be configured so s to be totally flexible along its entire length.

The operation of this embodiment is similar to that described above in that, once the bottle cap 30 of the present invention is deployed on the bottle 2, a flow of pressurized gas 8 is introduced through the through opening 12 the integrally formed flap valve 18 a is forced open and pressurized gas flows into the interior of the bottle 2. Flow of pressurized gas 8 is discontinued when a predetermined pressure within the bottle 2 is reached. The pressure is maintained within the interior of the bottle due to pressurized gas inside of bottle 2 pressing the flap valve 18 a closed against the interior surface of the cap body 18.

It will be appreciated that the above descriptions are intended only to serve as examples and that many other embodiments are possible within the spirit and the scope of the present invention. 

1. A bottle cap for the introduction of pressure into a bottle, the bottle cap comprising: (a) a cap body configured with a through opening; and (b) a one-way valve arrangement having at least one flexible valve component; wherein an association between said cap body and said one-way valve arrangement maintains a planer profile of said flexible valve component after introduction of pressure into the bottle so as to prevent escape of pressurized gases from the bottle.
 2. The bottle cap of claim 1, wherein said at least one flexible valve component is configured with at least one through slit, such that said through slit is aligned with said through opening.
 3. The bottle cap of claim 2, wherein said at least one flexible valve component is configured as at least two flexible valve components.
 4. The bottle cap of claim 1, wherein said one-way valve configuration is configured as a flap valve integrally formed with said cap body.
 5. The bottle cap of claim 1, wherein said cap body is configured for deployment on a plastic bottle containing non-carbonated liquid.
 6. A method for pressurizing the interior of a bottle, the method comprising: (a) providing a bottle cap having: (i) a cap body configured with a through opening; and (ii) a one-way valve arrangement having at least one flexible valve component; (b) deploying said bottle cap on the bottle; (c) introducing a flow of pressurized gas through said through opening and said through slit into the interior of the bottle; and (d) discontinuing said flow of pressurized gas when a predetermined pressure within the bottle is reached.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said at least one flexible valve component is implemented with at least one through slit, such that said through slit is aligned with said through opening.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein said at least one flexible valve component is implemented as at least two flexible valve components.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein said at least one flexible valve component is implemented as a flap valve integrally formed with said cap body.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein said deploying of said bottle cap is implemented as deploying said bottle cap on a plastic bottle containing non carbonated liquid. 